life imprisonment

British

noun

(in Britain) an indeterminate sentence always given for murder and as a maximum sentence in several other crimes. There is no remission, although the Home Secretary may order the prisoner's release on licence

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Life imprisonment for the crime of trying to save your child’s life.

From Washington Post • Mar. 16, 2022

“I think there’s other ways to hold people to account. Life imprisonment without the possibility of parole being foundationally one of them.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2022

Life imprisonment is the most severe sentence possible in Germany.

From Reuters • Dec. 16, 2021

Life imprisonment with the possibility of parole was the only other sentencing choice for the Harris County jury that convicted Campbell of capital murder in 1992.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 27, 2017

Supreme Court announced its decision: Life imprisonment without parole sentences imposed on children convicted of non-homicide crimes is cruel and unusual punishment and constitutionally impermissible.

From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023